But before that you need to establish that you purchased it with an investment intent. 

Also, in regards to a per diem, I'd like to be a bit more optimistic that I can establish the right checks and balances to ensure that the contractor is not skipping corners.

They have to have an established contract with the bureaus in order to report.

I realize we’d probably want to bring in a real estate attorney, but I’m assuming there are models in place that are probably well-established for such a partnership that I know nothing about.

Even with a great opportunity, trust is the foundation of any partnership.In my partnership, we had already worked together on multiple deals—me as the agent and him as the investor buyer—so we had established a strong foundation of trust.

It's encouraging to see someone else in the same boat.I also live in Washington and have been thinking about establishing a community investment group.

Or should we just establish our LLC and get financing through a DSCR lender? 

Eliminate debt, establish a budget, and save.

Also, not sure what relationship you have established with your property manager but typically people hire managers to take care of this part and be tenant-facing.  

I realize a lot has to be worked out, but tokenization through blockchain eliminates a lot of legal documentation issues once established.